Modern Spain: The Beginning Of The Empire Around The World

838 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Spain world history flashcards

Before empire
In early Spanish history, Spain was ruled by the Moors who were for around 700 years. The Moors helped to developed agriculture more and they also helped to created irrigation, which did wonders for the Spanish agriculture because Spain is a hot country and they don’t have that much water. Many of systems and ideas that were set up by the Moors are still in use to today in Modern Spain.
They remained in power for hundreds of years, without any resistance but it all began to fall apart towards the mid 15th century. The descendants of the fighters that fought against the Moors grew in support against the Moors. They pushed the Moors from most of Spain and they eventually captured the capital of Toledo.
During this time there was also a lot of fighting among the Christians Kingdoms in Spain. The fighting ended when the marriage of Isabella (heir to Castilla, which was most of Spain) and Ferdinand, he was the heir to Aragon, which consisted of Catalonia and Valencia.
As a result of the marriage, the kingdoms were unified, which helped to strengthen the response against the Moors. After ten years, the Moors eventually gave up Granada in 1492, which was the last that Moors held. The year 1492 is seen as the start of Modern Spain.
Start of empire
During this time in the 15th century, there was a rise in Empires and exploration around the world. Most people at that time believed that the world was flat and if you go to the edge of the world you would fall of it. This era is known as the Age of Discovery.
Age of Discovery
The reason the Age of Exploration started was because the Europeans needed to find a new way to get spices from Asia, because it was becoming too dangerous to go through the Silk Road because it was beco...

... middle of paper ...

...was based on exploitation. At the start of the empire, when the Spanish came to the Americas, they were promised by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, that they would have title of the American land and would have ownership of the villages that were on the land. In return for this they promised to convert the Natives Indians to Christianity. The King and Queen allowed the Spanish explorers to use the lands and the labour as they fit.
The Encomienda system soon became a system that was misused by the Spanish. The reason for this is because the Spanish felt it was their God given right to treat the Native is any way they pleased as a result of this, there was huge increase in abuses against the Natives and their lands by the Spanish. The System was later abolished in 1717 but it was still used in Mexico, until Mexico gained independence from Spain in the 1820s.

Show More
Related

  • King Ferdinand And Isabella Research Paper

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although the couple were really especially known for sending explorers like Christopher Columbus abroad, that actually is not their most effective achievement. Their most effective achievement was 10-year bloodbath of a war that was called the Granada War. Their main focus was to rid Spain entirely of its Muslim population. Ferdinand and Isabella took their Christian faith to the next level just to do so. In January of the year of 1442 they were successful, as they were able to wipe out the Muslims (PBS).

    Read More

  • Dbq Columbian Exchange

    886 Words  | 2 Pages

    Disagreement between the Europeans and the Natives and the enslavement of Native people helped to wipe out the population. Document 5 illustrates the fighting that occurred between the Natives and European. Most times the cause of this fighting was that Europeans were taking over land that was not rightfully theirs. The Natives often lost these battles because their weapons and tactics were not as advanced as the Europeans. Therefore, the large amount of deaths in battles made a change in the Native’s population. To add, when the Europeans first arrived to the Americas they established a new economic system called the encomienda system. The encomienda system was a system of forced labor which Native Americans worked on Spanish-owned estates. Document 4 explains how the system was to work, “the Indians should work on the Christians’ building, mind the gold, till the fields, and produce food for the Christian’s.” This system benefited the Europeans immensely. On the other hand, many Native’s working were treated very poorly and faced brutal punishment and labor. The enslavement of Native people was another cause of the great decrease in population. The disappearance of Native people lead to the disappearance of their customs, beliefs, and way of

    Read More

  • The Black Legend and its Negative Impact on the Image of Spain

    1265 Words  | 3 Pages

    It, along with Spain’s unwillingness to change their ways, led to their downfall, as suggested by historian Anthony Pagden. “The image of the Spanish Empire changed, however, not because the Empire itself changed, but very largely because it failed to.” The Black Legend began to ruin Spain’s reputation to an irreversible extent and king Phillip III didn’t help Spain’s situation, as stated by historian Ch...

    Read More

  • The Islamic Spain

    1842 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the fifth century Barbarians collapsed the Roman Empire and Europe entered the Dark Ages. Around this time the Visigoths expanded their empire by heading for Spain. Upon arriving in Spain, the Visigoths encountered Jews whom they treated somewhat gently until the Visigoths converted to Catholicism; the Visigoths then overran Jews. Soon after, Muslims from North Africa known as Berbers decided to invade the Iberian Peninsula in hopes to take control of Spain and expand the Muslim reign, which they did. This sudden change in rule of the territory provided a sense of relief for all the people living in Spain. The reason for this was because the Muslims treated everyone equally so long as they abided by Muslim authority and paid taxes. After all, the Christians...

    Read More

  • Spaniards in Southwest America

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Spanish began their movement to Southwest America in the late sixteenth century. From that point on, their influence both on the Native Americans and the environment was extraordinaire. The goal of the Spaniards with regards to the Native Americans was to transform them “into tax-paying Christians.” This is in contrast to the idea that their goal was to eradicate the Indians form the Americas. Consequently, the Spaniards took many Indians so that they may plant their religion in the Natives and to use them as cheap labor. This led many Indians to learn the customs and language of the Spaniards so they could to be able to thrive in the Spanish culture. Thus, some Natives acquired Spanish, which was the main source of their Hispanicization; this was the notion of Indians becoming encompassed by the Spanish society. Furthermore, Indians gradually learned skills, obtained land, and sometimes found Hispanic spouses, thus furthering their Hispanicization. They now began to live in a Spanish manner and blend into the bottom of the Spanish societal ladder. This “acculturation” of the Native Americans was in contrast to the models of early English colonization. Spanish goals and plans sought to involve the Indians so that they may live in their society even if at the lower end of it’s ladder. English colonies viewed the Natives as savages and looked to them for slave labor or to rape their women. They did not plan to take the Indians into their society as the Spaniards did so throughout this era.

    Read More

  • The Role of Religion in "The Conquest of New Spain"

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Spanish defeat of the Aztecs has been extensively criticized for many years. Religion was a motive for discovery, enabled the Spanish to enter the heart of the empire, and was used as justification for torture of the natives. The centrality of religion as a force in Spanish conquest is undeniable. Virtually all of Aztec culture was destroyed and the Spanish victory has had lasting effects for both natives and Europeans up to and including the present-day.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Spanish And English Colonization Of The Spanish And Native Americans

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    Colonization of the Americas was done by both the Spanish and English in the late 1400s to late 1500s respectively. They had quite a few similarities such as the hardships they encountered in their homelands that embarked them on their journeys to explore and even, in some ways, their rule over the new land had some likeness as well. The differences between them lie in the specifics of their exploration and their relationship with the Indian groups who already inhabited the space they took over. Even though each group had different motives and goals for their expedition, it is evident that both groups had their share of major conflicts with the native peoples and defining characteristics of their societies.

    Read More

  • European History - The Spanish Inquisition

    576 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Spanish Inquisition was used for both political and religious reasons and founded by the Catholic Kings in 1478 . Spain at the time was a nation-state that was born out of religious struggle between numerous different belief systems including Catholicism, Islam, Protestant and Judaism. Following the Crusades and the Reconquest of Spain by the Christian Spaniards the leaders of Spain needed a way to unify the country into a strong nation.

    Read More

  • The Pueblo Revolt

    1413 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Spanish rule had effectively started to take over in 1598 when a man by the name of Juan de Onante began his invasion on the indigenous people. Onante was able to set up the first Spanish colony which consisted of soldiers and women and children. The land that he invaded was inhabited by the Natives but when they had the first colony the Spanish began to segregate the natives into two groups the “Barbaros” and the “Pueblos”. The Spanish colonization had over 100 communities spreading over hundreds of miles. Although, they were lumped into ‘...

    Read More

  • Spaniards Vs. English Colonization

    1358 Words  | 3 Pages

    Looking back into history, at around the 1500s to the 1600s, people were very much the same in the sense that many countries were looking to aggrandize their economy and appear the greatest. It was this pride and thinking that motivated many of the superpowers of the world’s past. Two such monarchies in the European continent included England and Spain, which had at the time, the best fleets the world has ever seen. Because both were often striving to be the best, they conflicted with one another. Although England and Spain had their differences, they both had a thirst to see new things and it was this hunger that led them both to discovering different parts of the “New World” and thus, colonizing the Americas.

    Read More

  • Three Explorers From The Age Of Exploration Essay

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    Age of Explorations was a time of discovery of the new world during the 15th through 17th century. Many Explorers were in search for new passage ways, new trading ports, new land, new spices, and riches. The three explorers discussed in this paper is Henry Hudson, Jacques Cartier, and Francisco Pizarro. Henry Hudson was an explorer whose main purpose was to find a route to Asia from Europe, he had a series of three voyages trying to achieve this. Jacques Cartier was sent to find riches and a route to Asia as well. Francisco Pizarro served on an expedition, which he discovered the Pacific Ocean.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Spanish And Ottoman Empires

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Ottomans and Spanish built flourishing empires based on different philosophies from 1450 to 1800. The Ottoman and Spanish were two powerful empires during that time. During the building of the two empires, the Spanish and the Ottoman both developed similarities in their social, political, and economic structures. The Ottoman took control of Europe, while the Spanish saw it as easy to monitor new lands. The different tactics employed made the both empires flourish. For instance, the Spanish were not tolerant of religion. They conquered other areas with the aim of converting Christians to Islam, if they refused, they would be killed. On the other hand, the Ottoman leaders incorporated leaders of diverse culture

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast French And Spanish Colonization

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Spanish and the French both had different ideas of how to treat the Native Americans that resided in

    Read More

  • Queen Castile: The Spanish: Queen Isabella Of Castile

    1111 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1492, Granada surrendered and became a Christian conquered land. The Inquisition was completed. During the Inquisition, new centers of spiritual power in Western Europe were created, which increased the unification of Catholic expression of Faith.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Victor And Vanquished

    1086 Words  | 3 Pages

    From 711-1492, Christian Spaniards lived under Moorish rule until eventually, the Christian Kingdoms took over during the Reconquista. The conflicts between the Muslims and Christians created a militaristic culture in Spain that surpassed that of any other European nation. Furthermore, being trained militarily was often exclusively attributed to the nobility however, in Spain, “many young men knew these skills and used them to their advantage.” Without a doubt, recently reconquering their homeland motivated the Spanish to a basis for expansion and conquest that most other European societies were lacking. In addition, the voyages of Christopher Columbus led to discovering the New World which undoubtedly contributed to added interest in conquest. Eventually, each conquest further raised Spanish hopes for fame and

    Read More

More about Modern Spain: The Beginning Of The Empire Around The World

Open Document